Johannes Fastenrath
(Remscheid, 1839-Cologne, 1908) German essayist, Hispanicist and literary critic.His early inclination towards the study of humanistic disciplines was definitively conditioned by the visit that, with twenty-five years of age, he made through the lands of Spain.From then on, Spanish literature became the main object of his critical works, and he went so far as to write in Spanish some personal works that could be classified in the genre of memoirs or confessions, such as those entitled Pasiones de un German Spanish and La Walhalla and the glories of Germany .
Johannes Fastenrath
Long before giving These two titles had already enriched the history of Hispanic Letters with the publication of some titles such as Ein spanischer Romanzenstrauss (1866), Klänge aus Andalusien (1866), Hesperische Bluten (1869) and Die zwölf Alfonsos von Kastilien (1887).In addition, he embarked on the endeavor to translate into German the works of the main Spanish writers of the time (such as José Zorrilla, Gaspar Núñez de Arce, Manuel Tamayo and Baus, Juan Valera), thereby contributing decisively to the European dissemination of the nineteenth-century Spanish literature.
His love for Spain led him to move to the German city where he lived some traditional literary patterns in Hispanic culture; and thus, in 1899 he convened in Cologne a poetic contest in the image and likeness of the Floral Games of Barcelona.In particular, the entire Catalan literary tradition aroused the fascination of Johannes Fastenrath, who also translated into his mother tongue the troubadour compositions of the ancient poets of medieval Catalonia ( Katalanische Troubadoure der Gegenwart , 1890).
But perhaps his most significant legacy, which is still valid today, was the establishment of an annual award for Spanish literature that, under the name of "Premio Fastenrath", is awarded by the Royal Spanish Academy with the funds that the Hispanist from Remscheid donated for this purpose.Throughout the 20th century, this award has served to promote the works of significant authors such as Miguel Delibes, Ana María Matute and Leopoldo Panero.
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